St. Maarten Beaches

[csgarner2015]

What are the best beaches to go to in St. Maarten? Preferably with chairs and an umbrella available to rent.

 

[Quellman]

There are a couple of day resort places. There are some across the island, there is one you can take a water taxi too from the boat pier or you can walk there. We've only done that beach because we are lazy.

I did read that Maho beach actually has sand again after the Hurricane. They dropped a bunch on it, so that might be an alternative again.

 

[csgarner2015]

There are a couple of day resort places. There are some across the island, there is one you can take a water taxi too from the boat pier or you can walk there. We've only done that beach because we are lazy.

I did read that Maho beach actually has sand again after the Hurricane. They dropped a bunch on it, so that might be an alternative again.

What was the name of the beach you went to? How was it?

 

[Bettyscruise]

Orient Beach is a 25-30 minute taxi ride. The beach has plenty of amenities; good sand, clear water, food, rentals, bathrooms. Parts are clothing optional, parts are not... your choice. Only real downside were the roving vendors. Not unpleasant but persistent.

 

[Quellman]

What was the name of the beach you went to? How was it?

This was before the hurricanes....

I provided a layout where we approximately were in relation to the cruise ship and the water taxis. We paid a nominal cost to a vendor for two chairs. They included a wifi code and a place to shower at the end of the day as well. Also there were people who would come around and take your orders for drinks and food (not included with beach chair and umbrella rental cost).

As it is pretty much a public beach, people are free to walk around hawking cheap trinkets and aloe foot massages etc. You'd have to decline each time as they passed by. So it wasn't really super relaxing. Bucket of beer was cheap. They also have an area where you can rent jet ski and other stuff (at least they did before the hurricanes). Sand was in good condition and the water clean. So it was a beach. We didn't have a plan for the day, be sure to have cash.

 

[starvenger]

I think it’s called great bay beach. As pp noted, it’s a good, cheap, no thought required place to go. And if there’s more than one boat docked it can get crowded.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We did SM 56 - Caribbean Beach Day and it included transportation, a lunch, beach chair and shared umbrellas. It's very close to the ship, so you could do it yourself, but it seemed like all the beach areas were reserved for excursions or hotels selling rooms and beach chairs. I don't know if you can just 'walk up' and rent one on that beach, at least.

 

[samily]

Take a look at the Ports of Call boards over on Cruise Critic for current status of the beaches. The hurricane really took a toll on them and wiped out most of the food stands etc. It sounds like the beaches on the Dutch side are coming along better than those on the French side.

We will be there next month so I have been trying to get as much info as possible.

 

[kenthanson]

We did SM 56 - Caribbean Beach Day and it included transportation, a lunch, beach chair and shared umbrellas. It's very close to the ship, so you could do it yourself, but it seemed like all the beach areas were reserved for excursions or hotels selling rooms and beach chairs. I don't know if you can just 'walk up' and rent one on that beach, at least.

We did that one as well and really enjoyed it. $45 and it got you transportation, chair and a umbrella plus lunch and free WiFi.

We did the Magens Bay the next day and it was more expensive and you had to rent an umbrella and the food was bad and expensive. The beach workers were else super rude.

 

[lizzyb]

We went to Mullet Bay on our own. It was a very nice beach and close to Maho.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We did that one as well and really enjoyed it. $45 and it got you transportation, chair and a umbrella plus lunch and free WiFi.

We did the Magens Bay the next day and it was more expensive and you had to rent an umbrella and the food was bad and expensive. The beach workers were else super rude.

That's what we did, too. Magens Bay was beautiful, but you had to rent your own umbrella and, quite frankly, by the time we got there, they didn't have any left. So luckily we'd brought 3 towels each from the ship.

 

[disny_luvr]

We did a tour through Bernard’s and went to Orient Beach and Maho Beach. We loved both beaches, but would give a slight edge to Orient. Clothing is optional on some parts of the beach at Orient, just FYI. There are beach chairs and umbrellas there, but you must pay to use them. There are also roving vendors, but they didn’t bother us. Maho is great, too. The beach is smaller and more crowded. Watching the planes come in is pretty fun. I’d also highly recommend Bernard’s.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The Dutch side of St Maarten is in much better shape than the French side. We went to a beach at Tjntamarre that was gorgeous but rustic.

 

[mareed]

We did a tour through Bernard’s and went to Orient Beach and Maho Beach. We loved both beaches, but would give a slight edge to Orient. Clothing is optional on some parts of the beach at Orient, just FYI. There are beach chairs and umbrellas there, but you must pay to use them. There are also roving vendors, but they didn’t bother us. Maho is great, too. The beach is smaller and more crowded. Watching the planes come in is pretty fun. I’d also highly recommend Bernard’s.

We did Bernard's tour last month and he substituted Friar's Beach for Orient because there is nothing at Orient after the hurricane. I assume this trip was before Sept 2017 hurricane.

 

[disny_luvr]

We did Bernard's tour last month and he substituted Friar's Beach for Orient because there is nothing at Orient after the hurricane. I assume this trip was before Sept 2017 hurricane.

Yes, it was in 2013.

 

[Tara D]

We went to Maho Beach a few weeks ago. It was so cool watching the planes come overhead but not relaxing umbrella type of place. The current is pretty strong and you have to pile your stuff on top of rocks up the beach so it doesn’t get washed away. I wouldn’t recommend it for little kids unless you have a one to one ratio with adults and kids.